CLIMATE: Lawmakers urge Boston-based Liberty Mutual insurance to stop providing coverage to fossil fuel projects and companies, which include controversial projects like Keystone XL and Mariner East II. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: Massachusetts’ top energy official says COVID-19 emphasizes the need to address climate policies including the state’s membership in a regional cap-and-trade vehicle emissions proposal. (CommonWealth Magazine)

***SPONSORED LINK: Applications are now open for the Veterans Advanced Energy Fellowship, a yearlong program for high-performing, high-potential military veterans in advanced energy, presented by the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center. Learn more at www.vetsenergyproject.org/fellowship.***

STORAGE:
• Sunrun finalizes agreements with utilities in New York and California to run pilot programs at hundreds of residences with solar-battery combinations to create virtual power plants. (Greentech Media)
• A bill making its way through the New Hampshire legislature could pay owners of home batteries for benefits provided to the grid during demand peaks. (Concord Monitor)

NUCLEAR: Massachusetts drops its legal challenge to the sale of the closed Pilgrim nuclear plant in exchange for promises by the new owner to increase financial reserves available during the plant’s decommissioning. (Associated Press)

SOLAR:
• A developer proposes a 120 MW solar array on gravel pits in central Connecticut, making it one of the largest projects in the Northeast. (Hartford Business Journal)
• New Jersey awards contracts for about 20 MW of projects in the first round of its community solar pilot program. (Electrek)
• As the solar industry declines in Massachusetts due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, employment remains steady on Cape Cod as installations continue. (WCAI)
• In its latest sustainability report, Con Edison of New York advocates for utility ownership of solar projects. (Daily Energy Insider)

OFFSHORE WIND: A deeper analysis of a federal study of offshore wind impacts shows there may be some “less than palatable” conditions set on projects, one analyst says. (E&E News, subscription required)

OIL & GAS: Pennsylvania’s impact fee collected from natural gas producers fell about 20% last year due mostly to lower commodity prices. (Pittsburgh Business Times)

GRID: Analysts say unpredictable usage patterns from the COVID-19 pandemic are making it more difficult for grid operators to plan ahead. (Utility Dive)

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WASTE-TO-ENERGY: A municipal committee tells Maine towns it is trying to find a buyer for a waste-to-energy plant serving 115 towns that closed last month due to financial difficulties. (CentralMaine.com)

COMMENTARY: Environmental justice advocates say New York City’s peaker plants must close as their public health risks disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities. (Gotham Gazette)

Bill is a freelance journalist based outside Albany, New York. As a former New England correspondent for RTO Insider, he has written about energy for newspapers, magazines and other publications for more than 20 years. He has an extensive career in trade publications and newspapers, mostly focused on the utility sector, covering such issues as restructuring, renewable energy and consumer affairs. Bill covers Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire and also compiles the Northeast Energy News daily email digest.